Penguins' Sidney Crosby doesn't slam door shut on trade rumors

For years, numerous Pittsburgh Penguins insiders have insisted that longtime captain Sidney Crosby will retire with the franchise even though they seemingly aren't close to competing again. 

Nevertheless, Crosby remained the subject of trade rumors throughout the summer. While he could've poured cold water over such chatter during his Player Media Tour availability on Monday night, the three-time Stanley Cup champion went in a different direction. 

Sidney Crosby: "That’s the hard part about losing"

"I mean, I understand it," Crosby said about speculation regarding his future, per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "It’s not something you want to discuss. You’d rather be talking about who we’re getting at the [trade] deadline or, you know, where we’re at as far as, are we one or two or three in the division? But you know, it’s one of those things. That’s the hard part about losing. I think everybody thinks that the buzzer goes and you lose a game, and that sucks, but there’s so much more than that. It’s the [roster] turnover. It’s the unknown, the uncertainty, the question marks — that’s the stuff that’s tough."

Crosby grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan and has repeatedly been linked with them amid Pittsburgh's ongoing roster rebuild. Following the 2024-25 campaign, the Penguins replaced head coach Mike Sullivan with then-New York Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse, who had no prior experience as a bench boss.

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Penguins as +600 betting underdogs to make the playoffs next spring.

Crosby appeared to commit to Pittsburgh when he inked a two-year contract extension in September 2024 that runs through the 2026-27 season. While speaking with LeBrun on Monday night, Crosby's agent indicated that the 38-year-old has no interest in simply going through the motions on a retirement tour with a team that lacks a realistic chance of winning even a single playoff series.

Sidney Crosby is "not getting any younger"

"First of all, he’s been so consistent for 20 years. He had another great year last season," agent Pat Brisson said about Crosby during his chat with LeBrun. "He had another great year last season. He just keeps going. The comparison is Tom Brady. We want Sidney to hopefully be in the playoffs every year. We want him to hopefully win another Cup or two. So, each year the team that he’s playing for fails to make the playoffs, it creates a lot of speculation. In reality, he’s not getting any younger. We’re here to support him. It’s the beginning of the season here. Let’s see how things are going. Hopefully, they have a great season, and the speculation will go away."

Crosby added that he wants "to compete for as long as I can." He can still be a difference-maker as part of a playoff-caliber squad, which the Penguins likely won't be able to offer him anytime soon. 

LeBrun was sure to note that "the likeliest outcome" is that Crosby stays "a Penguin for life." That said, it sounds like the all-time great is keeping his options open.